State and federal governments are under pressure to crack down on taxpayer-funded Islamic schools that force girls to cover their hair and parts of their face, and to wear ankle-length skirts and long-sleeved tops as part of their uniform, even in summer.
A female teacher at an Islamic school in Sydney’s west, who did not want to be named, has complained to The Australian about the girls uniform at the Al-Faisal college in Sydney’s west.
The school’s dress code, thought to be the most extreme for girls in Australia, is accessible on the college website. It makes plain that only girls are required to wear long-sleeved shirts in summer, while boys can wear short-sleeved shirts.
The school also requires girls to wear ankle-length dresses even in summer, with knee-length socks or pantyhose underneath. The hijab is compulsory from the age of five, including while the girls are playing sport.
By contrast, female students at Melbourne’s largest Jewish school, Mount Scopus, wear knee-length skirts and short-sleeved blouses. The nation’s largest Exclusive Brethren school, called the Met School, allows girls to wear knee-length skirts and short sleeves.
The Al-Faisal College was founded with a grant from the Saudi royal family but is now funded by fees and by the taxpayer, with federal and state government grants totalling $20.1 million last financial year.
The state government refused to comment yesterday, saying: “The Department of Education can only provide comment on NSW public schools.”
The federal government was similarly reticent: “While the Australian government has a national leadership role in school education, its delivery is the responsibility of the states and territories.”
The debate about extreme modesty for girls comes after a Queensland academic raised questions about why female students were still forced to wear skirts and dresses at school while boys could run around in shorts.
Amanda Mergler of the Queensland University of Technology has written a report for website The Conversation that asks: “Will a school need to face legal action before all schools move to have uniform policies that allow girls to be as comfortable and free to move as the boys sitting beside them?
“Some parents see skirts and dresses as an outdated expectation that amounts to gender disadvantage and discrimination.”
She quotes an Australian Bureau of Statistics report that found skirts and dresses “restrict movement in real ways; wearers must negotiate how they sit, how they play, and how quickly they move”.